Superiority at Any Cost
by Kallamae
Summary: When Dustil Onasi isn’t progressing as he should, Master Uthar arranges for a little motivation. A story about the fate of Selene.


"What is that boy's name?" Master Uthar pointed a finger at a brown-haired teenager on the security screen. He usually didn't bother himself with the younger students, but this one had caught his attention.

The boy was sparing with an instructor nearly twice his age. He held his ground, but missed several opportunities to press the attack and take control of the fight.

"That, Master, is Dustil Onasi," Yuthura replied.

"Any relation?" Uthar seemed to remember a hero from the Mandalorian Wars with the name Onasi.

The boy's frame suddenly arched in pain as he was enveloped by a short blast of blue lightning. He retaliated with the practice blade, but not with the Force.

"He claims not," Yuthura crossed her arms, "but I'm not sure I believe him. If he is related, he hates the man. Dustil calls himself an orphan and has no love for the Republic or the Jedi."

"But neither does he show any passion for the Sith. He is strong in the Force, yet reluctant to bend it to his will." Uthar stopped the playback and pulled up another image of the boy in his quarters.

Dustil sat cross-legged on the bed next to a girl. She was lovely. Her face was framed by dark curls and her green eyes twinkled with laughter. The boy was obviously smitten.

"Selene," Yuthura supplied the girl's name. "She brought Dustil here with her."

"The boy has much potential," Uthar declared, "but he is holding himself back. Tell me more about this girl."

Yuthura snorted, "She is just like half the others her age, mediocre dribble who scrape their way by. There are dozens just like her, though perhaps not so many in such a lovely package."

Uthar froze the image on the screen. Dustil was adjusting Selene's lightsaber while she twirled a finger in her hair and watched him.

"Pathetic," Yuthura's voice burned with scorn. "It seems the entrance standards of your predecessor were lacking."

"Indeed," Uthar agreed. "But this girl may be exactly the incentive Dustil needs."

Yuthura raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"Give her an assignment in the tombs and have her killed," Uthar rubbed his chin in thought. "I will talk to Dustil when it is done and perhaps we can fuel the dark spark within him."

"As you command, Master." Yuthura bowed and left.

Uthar narrowed his eyes as he resumed the playback. Dustil handed the girl back her improved lightsaber. She smiled brilliantly in gratitude and the boy actually blushed in response. Uthar sneered and angrily turned off the console.

No time was wasted in sending the girl to her death. She received a summons from Yuthura and was granted permission to attempt an excavation in the tomb of Ajunta Pal. The girl was ecstatic. Her brash need to prove herself outweighed the better sense that would have warned her she was woefully unprepared to undertake such a task.

"Dustil!" she threw open his door.

"Selene," he jumped up from his meditations, "what's wrong?"

"Wrong?" she laughed. "Nothing at all is wrong." She took his hands and danced him around the room.

Dustil pulled her down to sit beside him on the bed. "Slow down," he laughed with her. "What's going on?"

"I'm going into the tombs!"

Dustil frowned. They were still one grade below being allowed entry. "You took your test?"

"This will be my test. Master Yuthura said that Master Uthar thinks I'm ready." She could barely sit still beside him. Her dark curls bounced as she continued readjusting her position.

"I wish I could go with you." Dustil took her hand gently. It was only two days ago that Master Yuthura expressed her great disappointment in him. She said that he ought to have been ready to advance months ago.

"That would be great," she squeezed his hand.

"Yeah," he tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

Selene continued, oblivious to Dustil's dejected air, "Master Yuthura said one of the other students uncovered a map that's supposed to lead to a stash of lightsaber crystals buried in the Tomb of Ajunta Pal. That's what I'm looking for."

"Are you sure you're ready?" Dustil asked.

Selene jumped up from the bed. Her green eyes burning, her body shaking with anger. "You just can't be happy for me, can you?" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You just can't accept that I'm advancing and you're not! We were supposed to stick together here."

"That's just it," Dustil stood and shouted back. "We were supposed to do this together."

She stared at him with her hands perched on her hips.

"Selene…" he couldn't find the words for what he wanted to say. He sank back down onto the bed with his head in his hands.

She knelt down in front of him and pried his fingers away from his face. "Dustil?" she frowned. "Dustil, what is it?"

He looked at her. Dark curls fell around her face. She never bothered trying to tie them back. Long, dark lashes curved away from her brilliant green eyes. Eyes that this very moment were filled with concern and confusion. She was frowning now, but he could see the smile waiting to break out.

He'd loved her since the moment he saw her.

"Dustil?" she asked again.

"I love you," he blurted out. It was supposed to be charming and gentle, but the words just leapt from his tongue.

Selene blushed. "I know," she smiled. "I, ah, I love you too."

Dustil slid down next to her on the floor. "You mean it?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Course I do."

He slipped his hand into the dark curls he'd admired since he met her over three years ago and very timidly kissed her for the first time.

Early the next morning, Selene went into the tomb alone. She followed her instructions exactly. But instead of uncovering a stash of lightsaber crystals hidden away by the ancient Dark Lords, she found a man. The girl didn't live long enough to recognize his face from the Academy. With a quick motion of his hand, she was clutching at her throat uselessly trying to pry away the invisible hand choking the life from her.

The man flicked back on his stealth generator and waited for the tuk'ata to find her corpse. When the vicious hounds had mauled the once beautiful girl enough to give the appearance of a "training accident," he carried her back to Master Uthar's office.

The Academy Headmaster made no attempt to conceal the horrendous condition of Selene's remains before Dustil knocked respectfully at the door. "Master Uthar, Master Yuthura said I was to report to you," he called out.

"Yes," Uthar loomed in the doorway. "There is some news I thought best to deliver myself."

The color drained from Dustil's face. "Selene," he whispered.

"It seems there's been an accident in the valley," Uthar betrayed no emotion in his voice or expression. "We believed the area she was working in was free of tuk'ata."

For a moment, Uthar thought the boy might faint. The Force was dim around him as if he were barely there at all. Uthar's eyes narrowed slightly and he was forced to wonder if perhaps he'd been mistaken in the boy's potential.

Uthar stepped out of the doorway and motioned the boy into his office. Dustil's eyes found the desecrated body of the girl he loved. His hands balled into fists. His presence in the Force exploded to life. Hot waves of rage rolled off of him. Uthar almost smiled.

"The Tomb of Ajunta Pal?" Dustil's hollow voice asked.

"Yes," Master Uthar answered, "I'm afraid so."

Dustil spun around and walked out, the Force crackling in his wake. His eyes were dangerously blank and his arms hung unnaturally still as he made his way out into the Valley of the Sith Lords. A few Sith archeologists looked up to watch him pass, but no one made any effort to stop him from entering the Tomb of Ajunta Pal.

The heavy door slid shut behind Dustil. After the bright sunlight of Korriban, the tomb seemed black. As Dustil's eyes fought to adjust to the dim light, the tuk'ata attacked. But even with the advantage of sight, they didn't really have a chance.

Oblivious to the lightsaber hanging at his hip, Dustil instead lashed out with the Force. The Sith hounds were thrown back into the ancient stone walls before they could reach him. He was deaf to the dull thud of their bodies impacting the floor and the odd high-pitched whines as they staggered back to their feet.

Fueled by his rage, the Force coursed through him as it never had before. He stretched out his arms and screamed. Hot white lightning exploded from his fingertips. The arcs shot out into the approaching tuk'ata.

Their charred corpses fell to the floor still twitching. Dustil continued his assault long after the last of the Sith hounds was dead. The blackened bodies jumped again and again as he shot electricity into them.

Dustil didn't realize they were dead. He didn't smell the thick stink of burnt flesh or feel the hot tears that fell down his face. All he felt was the cold satisfaction of revenge and the confidence that everyone who had ever hurt him could be made to suffer.

Alone in his office, Master Uthar felt the rush of dark power emanating from the Tomb of Ajunta Pal and allowed himself to smile.


End file.
